Instead of birds being decimated to make way for highly inefficient, heavily subsidised wind farms, the red throated diver has struck a blow for birds and bird lovers everywhere. In doing so it will help hard pressed British householders facing ever steeper power prices because of the hugely expensive ‘renewables’ industry, or should we call them ‘unreliables’.

The Daily Telegraph reports:

Plans to extend the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, the London Array in the Thames estuary, have been scrapped due to fears it would harm seabirds, in the latest blow to the government’s hopes for the industry.

In further setbacks on Wednesday, another massive project was scaled back and a leading executive suggested that turbines were unlikely to be manufactured in the UK under current policy - raising fears that overseas firms will remain the main beneficiaries of Britain’s heavily-subsidised industry.

London Array was opened last summer, with 175 turbines sprawling an area of almost 40 square miles off the Kent coast and generating up to 630 megawatts (MW) of power – enough to power 500,000 homes.

Developers had been planning a second phase that would deliver more than 200MW of power, with an estimated 56 new turbines across a further 15 square miles.

But London Array said on Wednesday it was abandoning the plan because of concern over the impact on the red-throated diver, a bird classified as rare or vulnerable by the European Commission.

Ministers have set a target that projects that start generating in the early 2020s should have a total cost of £100 per megawatt-hour – about twice the current market price of power, with the difference subsidised through levies on consumer energy bills.

Bless the birds, is all I can say. At last the wind is blowing in the right direction against the subsidy-rich, environmentally unfriendly, profiteering of big Green business.

the biggest issue with this switch to renewables is the rush. Most people agree that sustainable energy solutions are a requisite, and resource levels and climate aspects suggest that investment in renewables are smart, practical steps. But like so many guilt driven initiatives, which in the main is what this is, we seem to be charging headling down new roads without a map or a destination. Governments are acting to win votes rather than secure the long term future.
The plethora of wind farms in the Uk is a classic example, and if you think that's bad, check out the solar fields which occupy what was once productive farmland - forcing foods to be imported.
Balance is needed. For the Uk this is impossible as the EU dictates how it behaves. The rest of us can observe and consider, and learn the lessons.

Reply

Jo Holmes

22/2/2014 12:50:08 am

Thanks for the thoughtful input Jerry. My problem with renewables is the cost and inefficiency. With the world's population expanding so quickly these are band aid solutions at best. From what I've read the only long lasting solution to meet energy needs is nuclear. Now that's an interesting topic for debate...

Reply

Jerry Flay

22/2/2014 03:07:43 am

If population growth and per capita consumption continue to grow apace then nuclear is an increasingly obvious option.

Reducing consumption is the key, as we are over dependent on power. Population growth too is a trend we must reverse.

However I suspect mother nature, as she always does when we irritate her too much, will at some point either force us to take hard decisions, or remove the need for them.